Summary

  • Grindr users have trusted the app with personal info, sharing details such as HIV status.
  • Recent accusations allege Grindr shared this sensitive data with ad firms, violating user privacy.
  • The EU is taking steps to protect online privacy, and the US may follow suit to increase transparency for users.



Grindr has become one of the most popular dating apps among those in the LGBTQ+ community, and for good reason. Users of the app have found it to be welcoming in many ways, and that sense of acceptance has created a certain level of trust. Some feel comfortable enough to share their HIV status, for example, but Grindr users are not immune to the risks of making personal information public. Now, new allegations against the app suggest users may suffer the consequences of taking that very risk.


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According to Bloomberg, a lawsuit filed in London is now accusing Grindr of sharing the personal information of its users without their consent. Specifically, the data was supposedly given to Localytics and Apptimize, two advertising companies. The app had already been outed for sharing HIV information with the ad firms in 2018 after an investigation led in part by BuzzFeed News. Although it confirmed the accusations at the time, more allegations have risen since then, calling Grindr’s privacy policies into question. Now, information including users’ HIV testing dates, ethnicities, and sexual orientation might have been exchanged.


Data sharing accusations mount against Grindr

In 2022, The Wall Street Journal brought accusations against Grindr, claiming in a report that it was selling location data (via Engadget). Furthermore, the app was accused of making user information available for years, suggesting that it did not stop after the 2018 investigation. In the most recent lawsuit, Grindr is specifically accused of sharing sensitive data with the ad companies before April 2018, and then between May 2018 and April 2020 — all without user consent.


While some app users are more than willing to share personal information, more people are becoming increasingly aware of their deteriorating online privacy. To that extent, the European Union (EU) created the Digital Markets Act in part to mitigate the exchange of user data. Now, tech giants like Google have been forced to give EU residents more transparency into how their information is being handled. Whether the US will follow in its footsteps has yet to be seen.